THE executioner’s medieval sword may have been replaced by automatic rifles but little else has changed in Saudi Arabia’s thirst for bloody vengeance.

Ceremonial beheadings in public squares have been held in Saudi Arabia for centuries

Ceremonial beheadings in public squares have been held in the Middle Eastern kingdom for centuries. Yet such are the relentless demands on its expert swordsmen that firing squads are about to become an alternative for the execution production line.

An Amnesty International report on Wednesday will show there has been no let-up in death sentences despite global human rights condemnation.

The Foreign Office last week took the rare step of criticising the Saudis after reports that a man was to have his spinal cord severed as an eye-for-an-eye retribution for paralysing a friend as a 14-year-old.

The Foreign Office described it as a “grotesque punishment” prohibited under international law.

While maiming and lashings are part of the country’s Islamic penal system, it is the number of death sentences that concerns human rights groups.

Last year at least 79 executions took place under sharia law which allows the ultimate sentence for adultery, robbery, burglary, sorcery, murder and drug smuggling. Only China, Iran and Iraq killed more.

Amnesty International says one condemned Sudanese man was subjected to the Saudi equivalent of crucifixion after having his severed head sewn back on to his body which was then hung from a pole in a public place. The days of execution by the edge of a sharpened sword blade look numbered, however.

Earlier this year, seven young men were shot by a firing squad in the city of Abha, with reports that the authorities had turned to firearms because of the shortage of qualified swordsmen.

The Al Youm newspaper reported firing squads were being considered because some swordsmen were arriving late to public square executions.

At least 29 people were executed in 2012 for crimes not accepted as the “most serious” by international standards, says Amnesty International.

It is highly critical of the Saudi judicial system. The report states: “Court proceedings fall far short of international standards for fair trial. Defendants are rarely allowed formal representation by a lawyer, and in many cases are not informed of the progress of legal proceedings against them.

“Defendants may be held incommunicado for weeks at a time, and may be convicted solely on the basis of ‘confessions’ obtained under torture and other ill-treatment, or deception.

“Death sentences have to be upheld by a court of appeal and the supreme court, then sent to the king for ratification before an execution can be carried out. A disturbing pattern of discrimination against vulnerable individuals continued to be apparent. In 2012, 27 of those executed in Saudi Arabia were foreign nationals.

“Over the past five years, an average of three out of every 10 people executed were foreign nationals, mainly migrant workers from developing countries in Africa and Asia.”

The report notes there has been a “marked increase” in executions for drug offences, with at least 21 dying last year compared with three in 2011.

It highlights the case of a mentally ill Indonesian mother-of-two detained in Medina prison since 1999.

Siti Zainab Binti Duhri Rupa admitted killing her female employer because of “mistreatment” but she had no legal representation at any stage or consular access during her interrogation. She remains under sentence of death.

Traditionally, Saudi executions take place after mosque prayers on a Friday, the Islamic sabbath. So many have been carried out in the capital Riyadh’s central Deera Square in recent years that it has become known as Chop Chop Square.

Saudi Arabia’s capital and corporal punishment system allows for amputation of hands and legs and even teeth extractions.

Its leading executioner Muhammad Saad al-Beshi recently revealed how he has a choice of weapons for different sentences.

“I use a special sharp knife, not a sword,” he said. “When I cut off a hand, I cut it from the joint. If it is a leg, the authorities specify where it is to be taken off, so I follow that.”

In 2009, one foreign observer to an execution in Deera Square described the moment of death in chilling detail.

He wrote: “At 9am, the executioner gently lowers the blade to jab at the condemned’s neck, which jerks the prisoner’s body to attention.

“Then the real blow: the blade is drawn high up, then swung back down. It cleaves skin, muscle and bone with a hollow, echoing thud.

“A lurid crimson waterfall chases the head to the granite with the sound of a wet rag being wrung out over a stainless steel sink. The body sways forward, snaps up, and slumps off to the right.

“A loudspeaker lists the decapitated man’s crimes: rape, drug trafficking and possession. The executioner sheathes his sword. A thickly bearded soldier claps his hands and wipes them against each other in the air.

“That’s it. By 9.05am, the only other person in Chop Chop Square is a janitor hosing down the granite.”

An Amnesty International report will show there has been no let up in death sentences

When I cut off a hand, I cut it from the joint. If it is a leg, the authorities specify where it is to be taken off, so I follow that

Saudi's leading executioner Muhammad Saad al-Beshi

“Death sentences have to be upheld by a court of appeal and the supreme court, then sent to the king for ratification before an execution can be carried out. A disturbing pattern of discrimination against vulnerable individuals continued to be apparent. In 2012, 27 of those executed in Saudi Arabia were foreign nationals.

“Over the past five years, an average of three out of every 10 people executed were foreign nationals, mainly migrant workers from developing countries in Africa and Asia.”

The report notes there has been a “marked increase” in executions for drug offences, with at least 21 dying last year compared with three in 2011.

It highlights the case of a mentally ill Indonesian mother-of-two detained in Medina prison since 1999.

Siti Zainab Binti Duhri Rupa admitted killing her female employer because of “mistreatment” but she had no legal representation at any stage or consular access during her interrogation. She remains under sentence of death.

Traditionally, Saudi executions take place after mosque prayers on a Friday, the Islamic sabbath. So many have been carried out in the capital Riyadh’s central Deera Square in recent years that it has become known as Chop Chop Square.

Saudi Arabia’s capital and corporal punishment system allows for amputation of hands and legs and even teeth extractions.

Its leading executioner Muhammad Saad al-Beshi recently revealed how he has a choice of weapons for different sentences.

“I use a special sharp knife, not a sword,” he said. “When I cut off a hand, I cut it from the joint. If it is a leg, the authorities specify where it is to be taken off, so I follow that.”

In 2009, one foreign observer to an execution in Deera Square described the moment of death in chilling detail.

He wrote: “At 9am, the executioner gently lowers the blade to jab at the condemned’s neck, which jerks the prisoner’s body to attention.

“Then the real blow: the blade is drawn high up, then swung back down. It cleaves skin, muscle and bone with a hollow, echoing thud.

“A lurid crimson waterfall chases the head to the granite with the sound of a wet rag being wrung out over a stainless steel sink. The body sways forward, snaps up, and slumps off to the right.

“A loudspeaker lists the decapitated man’s crimes: rape, drug trafficking and possession. The executioner sheathes his sword. A thickly bearded soldier claps his hands and wipes them against each other in the air.

“That’s it. By 9.05am, the only other person in Chop Chop Square is a janitor hosing down the granite.”